Jenna Timmons-Oikawa wins 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize

Jenna Timmons-Oikawa is a writer based in Ottawa. (Shanon Oikawa)Social SharingOttawa-based writer Jenna Timmons-Oikawa has won the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize for her story Wawa Indian.

She will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a two-week residency in the Leighton Artist Studios at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Timmons-Oikawa's non-fiction piece was published on CBC Books. You can read Wawa Indian here.

This year's finalists were selected by a jury composed of Claire Cameron, Niigaan Sinclair and Teresa Wong. 

"Wawa Indian was a real pleasure to read and a refreshing narrative that took the jury on a dynamic journey. The story is a metaphorical, time-shifting and complicated exploration of identity, contradiction and 'living through history.' At the same time, the narrator's voice is generous and empathic, representing the tenderness of growing up and the tragedy of truth," the jury said in a statement.

"Bringing together past and present, Wawa Indian plays with language, illustrates the complexity of humanity and offers hope to a world built on harm and cynicism."

The story Wawa Indian was inspired by themes of reclamation and renewal, says writer Jenna Timmons-Oikawa. (Tenzin Tsering/CBC)Timmons-Oikawa told CBC Books that Wawa Indian was inspired by themes of reclamation and renewal. Reclaiming stolen heritage and culture has been an often confusing and sometimes messy human experience, she said.

"It is something that I have been and will be working toward for the rest of my life."

"It wasn't until last year, when I wrote this piece, that I fully came to terms with, and emotionally understood that, my mom was taken. She wasn't just a gift given to my grandparents, but a stolen person," said Timmons-Oikawa.

"Though I had researched the Sixties Scoop and logically knew what had happened, it still had felt emotionally disconnected from me," she said. "Writing this piece brought to light some feelings I had been holding on to — and brought to my consciousness many things I had been not allowing myself to believe."

Timmons-Oikawa lives on the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation in Ottawa. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead and PRISM International, and she was selected as first runner-up for Canadian prose as part of The Temz Review's inaugural "London" Literary Prizes.

She holds a bachelor of arts in creative writing, a diploma in child and youth counselling and spent a decade working with youth in the mental health field.

Timmons-Oikawa joins a long list of writers who have won CBC Literary Prizes, including Lorna Crozier, David Bergen, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields.

The CBC Literary Prizes have been recognizing Canadian writers since 1979.

“To have [the judges] select this piece as the winner of the CBC Nonfiction Prize is truly a privilege. I can't thank CBC, the readers and the judges enough for seeing the value and beauty in my story. It was transformative for me to write, and to have it read and honoured in this way by three distinguished Canadian non-fiction writers, is transformative as well. Not enough people get to live out their childhood dreams, and now I am a lucky one of the few."

They will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts.

The longlist was selected from more than 1,900 submissions, which are processed by a two-tiered system.

Initial submissions are screened by a reading committee chosen for each category from a group of qualified editors and writers across the country. Each entry is read by two readers.

The readers come up with a preliminary list of approximately 100 submissions that are then forwarded to a second reading committee. It is this committee who decides the approximately 30 entries selected for the longlist, which is forwarded to the jury.

CBC Literary Prize winners get a writing residency ⁠— Chanel M. Sutherland shares how it's life-changing

Works are judged anonymously on the basis of the participant's use of language, originality of subject and writing style. For more on how the judging for the CBC Literary Prizes works, visit the FAQ page.

Last year's winner was Laura MacGregor for her story The Invisible Woman. 

The 2026 winner of the Prix du récit Radio-Canada is Raphaël Potvin for Points de suture.

If you're interested in other writing competitions, check out the CBC Literary Prizes. The 2027 CBC Short Story Prize is currently accepting submissions. The 2027 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January and the 2027 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April.